Chris Maloyan — Founder, Second City Prime
Chris Maloyan is the founder of Second City Prime, a premium meat and seafood retailer he started with his wife Susie in 2006. He has personally sourced beef and seafood for SCP for nearly two decades — from A5 Wagyu auctions in Japan to Pacific tuna boats to North Atlantic lobster co-ops. Customers and the trade know him as "The Meat Guy." Headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, Second City Prime ships direct to homes and restaurants nationwide.
How It Started
Second City Prime began in 2006 with a meat truck and a Chicago route. Chris and Susie ran the truck themselves — Chris on supply, Susie on customer relationships — covering Northbrook, the North Shore, and the Western Suburbs. The model was simple: buy better than the supermarkets, sell to people who could tell the difference, and never accept a complaint without making it right.
That truck route became the customer base. The customer base became the company. Twenty years later, the model is still simple. The roster of suppliers is global. The standard isn't.
What Chris Does Day to Day
Sourcing is the work. That means:
- Japan trips to inspect A5 Wagyu directly. Every named-prefecture A5 we sell — Miyazaki, Kagoshima, Hokkaido — was paper-traced to its 10-digit carcass identification number before purchase.
- Australian Wagyu programs audited for feeding length, breed registry, and grading protocol.
- USDA Prime specified at the upper third of the Prime grade, never the bottom.
- Iberico from acorn-finished pure-breed pata negra programs in Salamanca and Extremadura.
- Cold-water lobster from Maine and South African co-ops we've worked with for over a decade.
- Pacific tuna boats we vet for hand-line catch method and super-freeze capacity.
The Standard
Chris' working rule, repeated to every supplier and every team member: "the paper has to match the plate." Documentation, traceability, and grading aren't marketing material at SCP — they're the gate every product passes through before it ships. If the paper doesn't trace, the product doesn't move.
The Team
- Susie Maloyan, Co-Founder — customer experience, gifting program, brand
- Carl Meier, Operations — inventory, cold-chain, fulfillment
- Don Shamon, Warehouse — inbound inspection, packing standards
Contact
- Phone: (800) 899-7181
- Headquarters: 645 Academy Dr, Northbrook, IL 60062
- Email: Contact form
Articles by Chris Maloyan
- What Is A5 Wagyu? BMS Score Explained
- Cold-Water vs Warm-Water Lobster
- Dry-Pack vs Wet-Pack Scallops
- Sushi-Grade Ahi Tuna Guide
- SCP vs Snake River Farms — Honest Comparison
Shop the SCP standard.
Family-owned since 2006. Every product sourced and vetted by Chris personally.